The Brave Archer III (1981)

The third installment of The Brave Archer series brings Guo Jing and Huang Rong closer together as they struggle to find a cure for the Iron Palm Clan's deadly blows.

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writers:

Louis Cha (story), Cheh Chang (screenplay)

Stars:

Sheng Fu, Niu Niu, Lung Ti

Cast

Credited cast:
Sheng Fu
Niu Niu
Lung Ti
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tien-Chi Cheng
Sheng Chiang
Li Ching
Kin Ping Chow
Ke Chu
Jin Guo
Yu Lung Hsiao
Hsin Nan Hung
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok	...	(as Kuo Chui)
You-Hsing Lai
Wai Lam	...	(as Wei Lin)
Danny Lee	...	(as Li Hsiu Hsien)

Storyline

The third installment of The Brave Archer series brings Guo Jing and Huang Rong closer together as they struggle to find a cure for the Iron Palm Clan's deadly blows.

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | kung fu | sequel | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 November 1981 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

The Brave Archer III

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows The Brave Archer II (1978)

User Reviews

BRAVE ARCHER 3 – less action, long side story with Ti Lung

Continuing the Shaw Bros. epic filming of Louis Cha's "Legend of the Condor Heroes," BRAVE ARCHER 3 (1981) follows Kuo Tsing (Fu Sheng) and Huang Yung (Niu Niu), the happy-but-beleaguered couple from BRAVE ARCHER 1 & 2, as they continue their travels on behalf of the Beggars Clan whose chieftainship their teacher (Ku Feng) had bestowed on Huang Yung in the previous film. However, a blow by Iron Palm (Lo Meng) has seriously wounded Huang Yung, so Kuo Tsing seeks help from a reclusive white-haired beauty, "Auntie Ying" (Ching Li), who sends them to Emperor Yuan (Ti Lung) for a cure. But first they must get past the Emperor's followers, a fisherman (Chiang Sheng), a woodcutter (Lu Feng), a farmer (Wang Li), and a scholar (Sun Chien). Emperor Yuan has shaved his head and become a monk and the couple's visit leads to a lengthy side story with detailed flashbacks about the Emperor and Auntie Ying, once one of his concubines, whose affair with "Uncle Naughty"–Chao Pai Tung, an eccentric kung fu master exiled to Peach Island whom we met in the two previous films—yielded a son and a sequence of events with tragic results. (I should point out that the subtitles on the film on the remastered Celestial DVD say "Emperor," while the subtitles on the trailer, provided as an extra, refer to the character as "Duke Yuan," which seems more likely.)

As detailed as that is—and I'm keeping it real simple—there's still not as much story as was packed into the first two films. And there's also not as much as action. The endearing young lovers played by Fu Sheng and Tien Niu have to take a back seat for much of the story to Ti Lung and Ching Li whose entire drama takes up a huge chunk of the narrative and recalls a Chor Yuen-directed film the two starred in three years earlier, SWORDSMAN AND ENCHANTRESS (also reviewed on this site). The other sets of characters include the Iron Palm crew led by Lo Meng and the four aides to Ti Lung played by Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Wang Li and Sun Chien. Kuo Chui (Philip Kwok) as "Naughty" is seen both in flashback and the present, and joins them all in the final battle which means that all five actors comprising the Five Venoms (from the 1978 Shaw Bros. film of that title), plus their frequent co-star Wang Li (the honorary "Sixth Venom"), appear together in this sequence, making this something of an honorary Five Venoms film. The final brawl comes at 82 minutes into the 92-minute film and represents the only extended kung fu fight in the film. It's a good one, but it was a long wait getting there.

While not quite as filled with excitement as the two earlier Brave Archer films, it's still a fun, eye-pleasing costume adventure shot on lavish Shaw Bros. sets and featuring a fine all-star mix of unforgettable Shaw Bros. performers.